Becker, Lloyd, Connors Ease Into 2nd Round

August 28, 1986|By Steve Tracy, Dallas Morning News

NEW YORK — Wimbledon champion Boris Becker brushed back a surprisingly strong challenge from Canada's Glenn Michibata on Wednesday in advancing into the second round of the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.

Unlike Tuesday's opening day, when four-time champion John McEnroe was ousted, there were no major upsets in Wednesday's early matches.

Another favorite with the U.S. Open crowds, five-time champion Jimmy Connors, waltzed into the second round, crushing Sweden's Henrik Sundstrom, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

''I have played my best tennis here in New York,'' Connors said. ''The fans bring out the best in me.''

In women's singles, advancing into the second round in early matches were second-seeded Chris Evert Lloyd, a six-time U.S. Open champion; No. 3 Steffi Graf of West Germany, No. 5 Pam Shriver; No. 7 Helena Sukova of Czechoslovakia, and No. 13 Stephanie Rehe.

''I feel great,'' said Lloyd, 31, following her 57-minute workout. ''I'm in a good frame of mind. I haven't overplayed to this point. I feel very fresh at this stage of the year. I'm real optimistic.

''My knee tendinitis feels good and I think everything is falling into place nicely.''

Also posting first-round victories in the men's singles on the hard courts at the National Tennis Center were second-seeded Mats Wilander, No. 4 Stefan Edberg and No. 11 Mikael Pernfors, all from Sweden.

Playing under leaden skies with a threat of rain, Becker, an 18-year-old West German, defeated Michibata, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, as the Canadian Davis Cup player put up a courageous battle on the Stadium Court. But Becker had just too many weapons, especially his big serve.

Becker broke Michibata in the third game of the opening set, then broke him again in the seventh game. Both times, Michibata had battled to deuce on his serve.

But Michibata, ranked 96th in the world, found the passing lanes in the second set as the two traded groundstrokes from the baseline.

Michibata earned the first service break in the second set, in the eighth game. Becker broke right back, but Michibata, leading, 6-5, closed out the set when he broke Becker's service at love.

Although Becker controlled the match after that, he had to fight hard for every point.

Becker finished with 13 aces, the final one giving him match point. Michibata had two aces, but finished with 27 service winners, the same as Becker.